Page 62 of The Casella King

What the fuck?

“Your mother was a fucking whore,” he spits.

“Keep my mother out of your fucking mouth before I feed you your fucking entrails, you cocksucker.” I move forward, the barrel of his gun now firmly pressed on my forehead.

“She had a son before she wed Dominic.” He laughs. “A bastard son, condemned to a life outside of ours.”

My mind swirls, reeling with the thought of another brother roaming the earth, until my eyes catch sight of movement from the ground where Aries is. I watch as she curls her hand around my gun, aiming it straight for Leo.

My heart is in my throat as Leo turns, and within a flash, the sound of gunfire ricochets throughout the air.

No, no, no.

I watch in horror as the bullet sinks into Aries’s chest, her shirt slowly pooling with blood. My muscles work on their own accord, and just before Leo can turn to me, I grab him from behind, snapping his neck. There are muffled sounds of struggle and gunfire as I drop to my knees, cradling her limp body against mine.

“No!” I roar, my voice piercing through the sky.

Removing my jacket and my shirt, I crumple the shirt in my hands and press it on her bullet wound, the material soaking up the thick red blood.

“Open your eyes, sweetheart,” I beg and plead. “Don’t you fucking dare leave me.”

My eyes find Nico’s as he limps over to us. He looks to her, then to me, visible sadness in his eyes.

“What the fuck are you just standing there for!?” I yell. “Go get the fucking car!”

He nods to Henry who disappears.

I look down to her, the blood now soaking the shirt completely, pooling at her neck.

“You don’t get to die,” I whisper. “Do you fucking hear me!?” I caress her cheek. “If you die, I will knock down the gates ofheaven to find you because you belong in the darkness…withme.”

“Ezra.” Her voice is barely a whisper, but it’s enough to illuminate the darkest parts of me.

“It’s…all my fault…” Her eyes are heavy as she looks up at me, tears sliding down the sides of her face.

“No, sweetheart. It’s mine.” I remove the soaked shirt and throw it to the ground, pressing my hand directly on her wound, trying desperately to stop the bleeding. “Don’t talk, okay? Save your strength.”

Someone emerges from the shadows, her hand covering her mouth as she watches me cradling Aries.

“I’m so sorry,” she says as Nico raises his gun to her head.

“Please, don’t hurt me.” She stops walking as she carefully eyes Nico.

“Darcy.” Aries chokes as she tries to speak.

Henry pulls up in the van, swinging the door open, helping me carry Aries into the back.

“Henry, take that woman to the house, and don’t let her fucking leave. Nico will drive.” I say, and he nods. Nico gets in the driver’s seat and takes off.

My hands are slick with blood, the sensation which would usually give me pleasure is now making me sick to my stomach. If this is what heartache feels like, I now understand why people say, ‘the human heart is the only thing in this world that weighs more when it’s broken’.

Her body is limp against mine as I carry her through the large doors. Ethan waits, dressed in his operating gown, motioning me to the operating theatre where multiple others wait.

I place her down on the metal table, and he gets to work immediately, cutting off her top. One of the assistant’s ushers me out of the room and closes the door behind him. I run my hands through my hair as reality comes crashing into me. There’s a fifty-fifty chance I could lose her, and my blood runs cold at the thought as I pace the hall—nothing else on my mind besides my wife. The years I have spent, feeling nothing…complete emptiness…and in a few weeks, she has made me feel things I never thought possible.

Not for me, anyway.

But I stand here, wishing, hoping that by some miracle she will live, that the universe wouldn’t be that cruel as to dangle something like love in my face and just as I’m ready to grasp it with two hands, rip it away.

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